Science worksheet · Heat and temperature
Conduction, Convection or Radiation?
Learn the three ways heat moves, then sort nine examples.
- Grade level
- Grades 4–5
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Topic
- Heat and temperature
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Heat and temperature, Conductors and insulators, How heat moves
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Heat moves in three ways. Conduction: heat moves through things that touch. Convection: warm air or water rises and moves around. Radiation: heat travels through space as rays, like sunshine.
- Write each example in the right column.
- Which way does heat get from the sun to Earth?
Teacher tip
A pot on a stove shows all three. Draw it and label each.
How to use it
- Let kids feel a metal spoon and a wooden spoon in warm water.
- Read a thermometer together before and after.
- Let partners compare answers and settle any differences with a book or a video.
Watch for
Coats don’t make heat. They keep body heat in.
Talk about it
- Which material kept the ice coldest?
- Where have you seen this outside of school?
Take it further
Design a lunch box that keeps food cold the longest.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More heat and temperature worksheets
Grades 1–3
What Gives Off Heat?
Color the seven things that give off heat, X the five that do not, then fill in a sentence about friction.
Grades 3–5
Which Spoon Gets Warm?
An experiment: put metal, plastic and wooden spoons in warm water and find out which carries heat best.
Grades 3–5
Keep It Cold Challenge
Wrap ice cubes in foil, cloth, newspaper and nothing, check them every 15 minutes and find the best insulator.
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